Modern vehicles include various electronic components and systems that require significant power usage while parked. For example, many modern vehicles employ alarm systems with associated sensors and alarms that require power while parked. Other modern vehicles include status reporting systems and other electronic components that drain power while parked. Vehicle battery drain can be a significant problem for modern vehicles, particularly when the vehicles remained parked for long periods on the order of many months. Classic vehicles, while generally not including as many electronic components and systems as modern vehicles, also can experience battery drain when parked for prolonged periods. As classic vehicles are not frequently driven by their owners, battery drain remains a significant concern.
Many modern vehicles are powered by fully-electric or hybrid-electric engines with one or more rechargeable power sources. While the duration of a charge associated with the power sources associated with these vehicles is increasing through new technologies, it remains essential that an owner of such vehicles have options for charging the power sources of these vehicles at home, work or other locations where the vehicle is frequently parked. Further, the options for charging these vehicles must be simple to accommodate various levels of driver physical capabilities.
Conventional approaches for charging vehicular power sources, whether a passive source or an active source for an engine, generally require a user to plug a power cord into the vehicle. Trickle chargers, frequently employed to maintain a charge on a battery of a classic vehicle, require the user to open the hood of the vehicle and then physically attach the trickle charger for the duration of any parking event. When the user wishes to drive the vehicle, the individual must remove the trickle charger and then close the hood. Other conventional approaches to charging a power source for a fully-electric or hybrid-electric vehicle require the user to insert a plug-in power cord into a power receptacle of the vehicle until charging is complete and then remove the power cord before driving the vehicle.
Wireless charging approaches, including inductive charging systems, have been employed with varying degrees of success to charge various active power sources (e.g., power sources for the engines of fully-electric and hybrid-electric vehicles) and passive power sources (e.g., power sources for vehicle anti-theft systems). While such charging approaches are advantageous in requiring little, if any, physical actions by the driver of the vehicle to effect the charging compared to other conventional approaches (e.g., manipulation of trickle chargers, plug-in power cords, etc.), they often require much longer charging durations and exhibit low charging efficiency. In an inductive charger system, for example, the alignment of the charging coils can drive charging efficiency, and conventional inductive charger systems often fail to account for alignment.
Further, conventional inductive charging systems that include some alignment capability generally convey alignment information to a driver with off-board displays, which can add significant cost to the system. As a display is needed at each charging location, the overall system cost is increased with each additional display.
Accordingly, there is a need for inductive charger alignment systems for vehicles that are configured to ensure high charging efficiency, low product cost and high flexibility of use in various environments (e.g., home, work, commercial parking lots, etc.).